Having a hard time taking a fortified enemy position or destroying heavily armoured targets? Well look up and let fire rain from the skies with the “Battle Beetle” Flying Tank/Mobile Artillery!

About this creation

Designed for the rapid delivery of ordinance across the battlefield the Battle Beetle is a well armoured, highly mobile short-range artillery battery capable of laying down a deadly barrage of high explosive rockets and quickly relocating to avoid counter attacks.

Capable of flying high above the battlefield or hovering just above ground-level and able to manoeuvre with surprising agility the BB-I owes its mobility to a pair of powerful “pontoon” hover engines. The BB-I, rather than being a single AI, is actually a pair of linked AIs working in tandem; the first acts as pilot and the second as gunner.

The optic array located on the weapons package at the rear of the tank is designed to optimize firing arcs and targeting, providing the Battle Beetle with excellent shot placement and as a result the abundant ammo supply is rarely wasted, making the BB-I extremely dangerous. The primary weapons are the rocket pods which fire clusters of four unguided high explosive rockets each in an adjustable arc and there are enough rockets that it would have to fire constantly for more than a minute to expend all of its ammunition. Additionally, the Battle Beetle is armed with a pair of twin-linked lasers to ward off enemies who get too close and a pair of high-velocity, extremely agile Hunter Killer rockets to take out approaching aircraft.

Should the weapons package be damaged to the point of self-destruction the Battle Beetle is capable of ejecting it, allowing the resulting explosion to cover its escape.

Due to the design of the coupling that connects the weapons package to the body, the Battle Beetle can be refitted with another weapons package quickly and, if the infrastructure is there, easily.

Once airborne or in an open plain, the Battle Beetle is capable of surprising speed for a hover tank and though it is slower than most gunships it is just as agile, capable of rather astounding aerial performances.

In addition to thick armour plating the Battle Beetle employs a “decoy eye” located in the cavity of the forwards armour plates. The decoy is actually a shield generator which solely protects the actual eye, located just above it in a vantage point that allows it a clear view of the sky around it and a good view of the ground in front of it.